Secure digital access to a multitude of sites accessible online such as online banking, shopping, and virtual private networks are desired in today's online society. User authentication reflects a typical process that people use to access such sites online. Generally, the process begins with a user browsing to a web site, determining that secure access is desired, and setting up a user-name and password/passphrase for the site. Each time the user wants to access the site, the user browses to the site, enters their user-name and password/passphrase, and upon the site matching the user-name and password/passphrase, gaining entry to the site.
Currently as an alternative to entering the user-name and password/passphrase each time the user browses to the site online, the user can allow storage of cookies on the browser to remember selected information by the browser on that device. Thus, the security of the user's information at the site online is governed by the security of the computing device and browser upon which the cookies are stored.
Variations of the user-name and password/passphrase entry process utilize answering predetermined questions and identifying predetermined images in addition to entering the user-name and password.
In either event, the user-name and password entry authentication process is only as secure as the strength of the user's chosen password/passphrase (i.e., high entropy, not easily guessed, meeting certain strength criteria) in view of the user's secure treatment of the password/passphrase, (i.e., not reusing passwords/passphrases, not writing down the password/passphrase, not storing passwords/passphrases in an easily determined location). Weak (i.e., low entropy) passwords/passphrases, are susceptible to dictionary and brute force attacks.